On March 10, President Obama spoke on a national conference call to faith and community leaders, thanking them for their work in educating and helping enroll people in the Health Insurance Marketplace. The President also asked faith and community leaders to keep working hard to reach those without health insurance on the National Faith Weekend of Action, March 21-23, 2014.

The President asked those on the call to do three things:

Start more conversations about healthcare. Use your networks to spread the word about the Marketplaces using social media or whatever communication tool that works best for you.

Sign up for a webinar on the health care law to learn more and have your questions answered. The full list of webinars is here.

Consider hosting an enrollment event so that those who don’t have health insurance can have one more chance to enroll before the end of open enrollment on March 31, 2014.

Get Covered America has two websites to search for health insurance enrollment events in your local community. Go to www.getcoveredamerica.org or www.acafinancialhelp.org to register and find the Events Near You. HHS and CMS are posting many faith-based enrollment events here.

Finally, please share the outreach and enrollment work that you are doing in your community by emailing us at ACA101@hhs.gov. We want to lift up your good work.

Thank you for all that you are doing to create healthy communities, one person at a time.

Let’s start talking with each other about our health, Brother2Brother.

Here’s a shocking statistic: nearly 23 million men, especially young adult men, are uninsured today. And while coverage is available on the Health Insurance Marketplace, too many of men need a sudden wake-up call — in the form of a health crisis — to make them realize that they’re not invincible.

But it shouldn’t take something going wrong for us to understand the need for insurance coverage.

We want the men in our lives – our fathers, our brothers, our sons, our friends – to stay healthy. Getting health insurance is one way to make that a reality. We want to help, but we don’t know where to start.

All it takes is a conversation, men talking to men, brother to brother.

Health isn’t one of the first things we talk about. It might not even be the tenth. So, starting the conversation can be the hardest part.

Brother2Brother makes it easier by giving us three questions to spark conversation:

When was your most recent doctor’s visit?

What is the best reason you have to care about your health and to be healthy?

What can you do today to start living a healthier life?

These questions give men the opportunity to invest in a healthy future for themselves, their families, and their friends.

Brother2Brother also created a print-ready handout that includes these questions plus five tips about staying healthy. You’re free to print it and hand it out to the men in your life.

Remember, each of us has the power to take our health in our hands. To learn about how to get affordable health care coverage, visit www.HealthCare.gov. Together, let’s create a brighter and healthier future for us all.

It only takes three questions to get a conversation about health care started.

Get Covered America has two websites to search for health insurance enrollment events in your local community. Go to www.getcoveredamerica.org or www.acafinancialhelp.org to register and find the Events Near You. HHS and CMS are also posting many faith-based enrollment events here.

The HHS Partnership Center works with many organizations, including Enroll America and Get Covered America. The faith outreach team at Enroll America has produced three Health Care Toolkits for the faith community:

Open enrollment ends on March 31, 2014. If you don’t have health insurance, enroll on www.HealthCare.gov, go to localhelp.HealthCare.gov to find organizations that can help you enroll, search the enrollment events using the link above, or call the 1-800-318-2596 24 hours a day/7 days a week. The 800 number is available in English and Spanish and 150 other languages. You can also submit a paper application that is available here but the paper application may not be processed before the deadline of March 31. After open enrollment closes on March 31, the next open enrollment period starts on November 15, 2014.

HHS is joining national partners in hosting Latino Enrollment Summits across the county. The Summits are organized with partners such as Enroll America, LULAC and the National Alliance for Hispanic Health but also many community partners like health centers, community centers, and libraries. These Enrollment Summits provide information on the health care law, include trained Navigators and assisters to help with enrollment, and provides an opportunity to share stories about successful enrollment in health insurance. Click here to find a Latino ACA Enrollment Summit near you.

The schedule of the Enrollment Summits are:

3/15/14 El Paso, TX

3/15/14 North Jersey

3/15/14 Orlando-Daytona area (Sanford, FL)

3/15/14 New Orleans, LA

3/15/14 Cleveland, OH

3/15/14 Miami, FL (Florida City, FL)

3/22/14 Miami, FL

3/29/14 Tampa

We encourage folks to attend these Enrollment Summits. Please remind your congregation and community members to come prepared. An important checklist to keep in mind:

Social Security Numbers (or document numbers for legal immigrants)

Employer and income information for every member of your household who needs coverage (for example, from pay stubs or W-2 forms—Wage and Tax Statements)

Policy numbers for any current health insurance plans covering members of your household

The HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement has new videos, fact sheets, information in multiple languages and other tools to help refugees understand the health care law and enroll in health insurance. To view the new materials, go to: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/health.

Health care continues to be an important issue for small business owners. The Small Business Administration and Small Business Majority are committed to helping businesses navigate the changes and opportunities in health care through the Affordable Care Act 101 webinar series.

Each week, small business owners can learn the basics of the Affordable Care Act and how they can enroll in small business health insurance marketplaces. Other topics discussed include insurance reforms, the small business health care tax credit, and employer shared responsibility provisions. SBA representatives help small business owners understand the facts of the Affordable Care Act so they can make informed decisions about providing health insurance for their employees.

The Affordable Care Act 101 takes place every Thursday at 2 PM ET. Below are the registration links for upcoming presentations.

A Grassroots Campaign to Increase Individual and Community Preparedness

National campaign encourages public to practice specific preparedness actions

Despite an increase in weather-related disasters, nearly 70 percent of Americans have not participated in a preparedness drill or exercise, aside from a fire drill, at their workplace, school, or home in the past two years (2012 FEMA National Survey). However, we have seen that communities are better prepared to withstand an emergency and recover more quickly when everyone is involved. In an effort to continue building resilience, the federal family is pleased to announce America’s PrepareAthon!SM, a community-based campaign to increase emergency preparedness at the grassroots level in support of Presidential Policy Directive (PPD-8), National Preparedness. We are asking your organization to join us to learn how to get involved and spread the word.

The first America’s PrepareAthon! national day of action is April 30, 2014. It will focus on preparing organizations and individuals for tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, and wild fires. America’s PrepareAthon! events and activities will be held across the country twice a year to organize community days of action and encourage individuals to discuss, practice, and train for relevant hazards. The national days of action will be held in the spring and fall, and this year, the national days of action will be April 30, 2014 and September 30, 2014.

The federal agencies supporting America’s PrepareAthon! invite your organization to participate in a webinar to learn about the campaign and ways to be involved. You are welcome to participate in one of the live offerings mentioned directly below. You must register in order to access the webinar. If you cannot make it to a live offering, each webinar will be recorded and available to view at a later time.

America’s PrepareAthon! will leverage the resources of the Ready Campaign and the experience of members of the National Preparedness Community to continue to increase awareness of disasters and to encourage members of the public to know the corresponding protective actions. With your help, we can collectively move communities and individuals to act and become more prepared by participating in America’s PrepareAthon!

The National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) has released an inaugural annual report: The State of the National Vaccine Plan. This comprehensive progress report details the individual and collective efforts of HHS offices and agencies, along with many other federal and non-federal partners, to achieve the vision of the 2010 National Vaccine Plan.

The report outlines and explains the advances and accomplishments made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its agencies in collaboration with its partners in the implementation of the 2010 National Vaccine Plan. Highlighted accomplishments in the report reflect the extensive and ongoing coordination undertaken by NVPO carried out in fulfillment of its mission, and detail the breadth and scope of the vaccine-related activities of HHS agencies, representing just some of the extraordinary work carried out during their daily operations. To learn more about the report, please visit www.hhs.gov/nvpo.

Vaccines are an important and powerful tool for disease prevention. By preventing infectious diseases and their consequences at both the individual and community level, vaccines can reduce deaths from infectious disease. Now is the time to check your family’s immunization record and get them up to date. For more information, please visit www.vaccines.gov.

A new Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the Assets for Independence (AFI) program covering FY 2014-2016 has been released by the Office of Community Services.

Applications for funding are now being accepted. The full grant application package can be downloaded from www.grants.gov based on a search for:

Funding Opportunity Number HHS-2014-ACF-OCS-EI-0774, or

CFDA number 93.602

The FOA lists the due dates for applications as:

FY 2014: 05/07/2014 and 07/14/2014

FY 2015: 10/25/2014 and 04/20/2015

FY 2016: 10/19/2015 and 04/18/2016

All entities planning to apply for AFI funding in 2014 are encouraged to download the new Funding Opportunity Announcement and read it thoroughly. It contains changes from previous Funding Opportunity Announcements, including the new Two-File Submission Requirement.

Upcoming webinars hosted by the AFI Resource Center will highlight key aspects of the FOA and the application process:

Applicants can speak with a technical assistance provider any time before or after these webinars by contacting the AFI Resource Center. For people who are new to AFI and IDAs, we encourage you to watch Prospective Grantee Webinar 1: Planning an AFI Project first so you have a good grounding in the topics.

The HHS Partnership Center has updated webinars on the health care law for faith and community leaders. All webinars are open to the public and include a question and answer session.

To participate in one of the webinars, please select your preferred topic from the list below and submit the necessary information. Please click on the title of the webinar and fill out the registration form. After registering you will receive an e-mail confirmation containing information about joining the webinar. Please contact us at ACA101@hhs.gov if you have problems registering or if you have any questions about the health care law. All webinars are one hour.

According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1 in 4 uninsured individuals who are eligible for insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace nationwide are Latino. Through the Affordable Care Act, 10.2 million uninsured Latinos have the opportunity to purchase quality, affordable coverage, and as many as 8 million of those could get a break on costs. Enrollment in the Marketplace is open until March 31.

The United States-México border region is a unique, dynamic region with over 15 million residents. This region experiences particular health challenges, including some of the highest rates of tuberculosis, and obesity and diabetes, but very low rates of health insurance coverage compared to both countries overall. This bilingual (English and Spanish) webinar for leaders of faith-based and community organizations in the border region will focus on the health care law, the Health Insurance Marketplace, and eligibility requirements for legal immigrant populations.

This webinar is open to the public and is co-sponsored by the U.S.-México Border Health Commission and the HHS Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Please send your questions by 12:00 p.m. EDT on March 13 to ACA101@hhs.gov.

Join us to learn how to hold a successful enrollment event. The deadline for enrolling in the Health Insurance Marketplace is March 31. There is still time to enroll and help others to enroll in the Marketplace. We will share our new tool to help with enrollment events, show you key websites and answer your questions. Please send any questions toACA101@hhs.gov by 12:00 p.m. EDT on March 17.

A presentation on the main provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the health care law. Information on the Health Insurance Marketplace, how to enroll in health insurance and key websites with resources on the law will be shared. We will end with a question and answer session. Please send your questions to ACA101@hhs.gov prior to March 19 at 12:00 p.m. EDT. Email us at ACA101@hhs.gov if you want a webinar just for your congregation.

If you have questions about the health care law, the Affordable Care Act, this is the webinar for you! We will answer questions that have been submitted in advance as well as new questions asked during the webinar. Please send your questions by March 20 at 10 a.m. EDT to ACA101@hhs.gov.

A presentation on the main provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the health care law. Information on the Health Insurance Marketplace, how to enroll in health insurance and key websites with resources on the law will be shared. We will end with a question and answer session. Please send your questions to ACA101@hhs.gov prior to March 26 at 12:00 p.m. EDT. Email us at ACA101@hhs.gov if you want a webinar just for your congregation.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Grants Forecast is a database of planned grant opportunities proposed by its agencies. Each Forecast record contains actual or estimated dates and funding levels for grants that the agency intends to award during the fiscal year. Forecast opportunities are subject to change based on enactment of congressional appropriations.

When funding is available and an agency is ready to accept applications, the agency will issue an official notice, known as a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), which will be available on how to apply.

As always, the final section of our newsletter includes an updated grants listing that faith-based and community non-profits can pursue. All of these grant programs are competitive. It is important to review the funding announcement thoroughly to ensure that the grant opportunity is one that is appropriate to your organization’s mission, size, and scope.

Grants Information

Title: Announcement of Availability of Funds for Teenage Pregnancy Prevention: Research and Demonstration Programs (Tier 3) and Community Collaborative Academy Description: The purpose of this announcement is to work with communities with high teen pregnancy rates to develop innovative strategies for preventing teen pregnancy in populations/areas with demonstrated need. These could include high-risk, vulnerable, and culturally under-represented youth populations, and/or youth residing in areas with high birth or teen pregnancy rates. The successful applicant is expected to bring together a team in each selected community made up of representatives from various sectors to develop a strategy or prevention framework to address teen pregnancy prevention in their individual community.Link to Full Announcement:Link to Full AnnouncementLast day to apply: April 24, 2014Grant administered by the:Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health

Title: Assets for Independence Demonstration ProgramDescription: The Office of Community Services (OCS) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announces that competing applications will be accepted for grants to administer projects for the national Assets for Independence (AFI) of Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). The projects will provide IDAs and related services to individuals and families with low incomes.A primary feature of each AFI project is that participants save earned income in an IDA to purchase a home, capitalize or expand a business for self-employment, or attend postsecondary education or training. Projects also ensure that participants have access to financial education training and coaching, including family budgeting, debt and credit counseling, using mainstream financial products, and accessing refundable tax credits. As a condition of their federal AFI grant, grantees must provide non-federal funds to support their AFI project in an amount at least equal to the Federal AFI grant amount.Link to Full Announcement:Link to Full AnnouncementLast day to Apply: May 7, 2014 and July 14, 2014Grant administered by the:Administration for Children and Families

Title: Academic-Community Partnership Conference SeriesDescription: The purpose of this grant opportunity is to bring together academic institutions/organizations and community organizations to identify opportunities for addressing health disparities through the use of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). The objectives of meetings conducted as part of this award will be to: (1) establish and/or enhance academic-community partnerships; (2) identify community-driven research priorities, and (3) develop long-term collaborative CBPR research agendas.Link to Full Announcement:Link to Full AnnouncementLast day to Apply: October 17, 2014Grant administered by the:National Institutes of Health